


Sl0t

by utopiadrops



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Androids, Astrology, Cyberpunk, Drama, Dystopia, F/F, F/M, Gods, M/M, Multiple Pairings, Mysticism, Romance, Science Fiction, Tarot, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 21:27:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19484362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/utopiadrops/pseuds/utopiadrops
Summary: "Deeper, I'm sinking into the slot, the slot at my feet, pulling me in. Colors, they make my vision insane, my vision is insane, I'm not the same. Red, blue, and green, they run down my veins, the veins in my brains, dying me deep. You said that blue is life, and you said, you said that red is love. You said that red is love."(Title inspired by the Mili song of the same name.)





	Sl0t

**Author's Note:**

> typos idgaf

Lemurian quartz, also known as "Lemurian seed crystals" and "Lemurian star seeds", have been an untapped mystery for hundreds of years, shrouded in mysticism and absurdity. Found only in Brazil, they are thought to be remnants from a technically advanced ancient civilization called Lemuria. The Lemurians harvested these crystals, and what they have been used for has been highly debated among geologists and mystics. It's said that, right before the collapse of their once great society, the Lemurians imbued these crystals with secret meanings - then planted them in the ground to be found again one day.

As people discovered these wand shaped quartz nested under the dirt, they began to form their own theories regarding what they meant and what they could do. Many believed they would help achieve a previously unattainable level of divine knowledge, meditating with the quartz in hopes of unlocking the secrets of the universe.

Even at the start of the Arcane War, known back then simply as the Great War, there was a very small subsect of people who believed the Lemurian quartz could put an end to all of the fighting between countries and restore equilibrium to the Earth. They were, in other words, a cult, calling themselves Children of Lemuria. They devoted their lives to studying the crystals, locked away every day and every night in their Brazilian temple. Completely separated from society, the Children of Lemuria were not seen as a threat, and were permitted to continue their reclusive activities without much interference from the Brazilian military.

For nearly forty years, their lifestyle remained unchallenged. Truthfully, nobody could be bothered to care about what a cult of aging hippies did amongst themselves when a brutal war was raging on and on with no end in sight. The Children of Lemuria were only ever relevant to the rest of society during their monthly visits from the Exército Brasileiro, to make sure they weren't doing anything actually. Every month for forty miserable wartorn years, these visits went the exact same way. It wasn't until one day in spring, 2249, that things would change - for better or for worse.

A woman by the name of Alessandra - just a teenage girl when she was initiated - had been experimenting with divination, and how the crystals could possibly affect her readings. Perhaps, she thought, the Lemurians could lend some divine wisdom to end this eternal nightmare of man slaughtering man, for what at this point? Nobody could even remember what had caused the war in the first place. Alessandra begged the quartz to give her a sign, for a push in whatever direction would bring peace. Daphnomancy, pallomancy, haruspication, bletonism, even tyromancy - whatever it took. Yet still, from what Alessandra could gather, the crystals didn't have any significant impact on any of her readings.

Though she had never been a believer in tarot, Alessandra finally decided to give the arcana a chance. Just in case. The day she chose happened to be the same day as the Exército Brasiliero's visit, but that wasn't such a big deal. She had spent her entire life seeing these men once a month, and knew exactly what to expect. They would pop in, look around for a bit, then leave. Easy and simple 

Alessandra prepared for her reading, smudging the room with white sage and making sure the lighting was perfectly ambient. A single Lemurian quartz laid on the table before her, as she shuffled her deck. The first card she drew, The Fool, fell from her fingertips onto the crystal - a startled gasp leaving her lips as the door was abruptly opened. Two burly men in that familiar uniform stood before her, offering a curt but polite nod before beginning their inspection of the room. Alessandra smiled back, but as they were busy looking around, she felt no need to entertain them as guests. The visits never got too personal, military men didn't seem to want to spend too much time in such a spiritual place.

The woman brought her gaze back to her table, ready to draw another card - until she noticed it. Brown eyes went wide and the color drained from her usually tan skin, suddenly a haunting shade of white that could only be compared to the blank card resting atop the Lemurian quartz. The image of a jovial, carefree man approaching the edge of a cliff had completely vanished, to be replaced by absolutely nothing. It was as if The Fool had been sucked out of the card.

Trembling, Alessandra forced herself to keep her cool, lest she come off as suspicious to the officers in her room. In mere seconds, the crystal began emitting a soft glow, creating an unfortunately noticeable amount of light in the dimly lit room. Without much time to think, Alessandra reached out to grab the quartz, hoping to hide it under her skirt - but was met only with the feeling of singing flesh. A blood curdling scream ripped through her throat, alerting both of the officers instantly. Living with the constant fear of an enemy ambush, one man apprehended Alessandra, and the other pointed his automated assault weapon at the glowing quartz.

As Alessandra was pulled away from the crystal, so was the skin from her palms, spilling onto the clothed table in a puddle of bloody, melted flesh. She continued to scream out in pain, alerting the rest of her ministry. They clamored to her room, gathered at the doorway, but not daring to step foot inside and upset the two very large, very large officers within.

The quartz, radiating a soft pink light from underneath the blood, only seemed to glow brighter and, somehow… angrier. It began shaking, nothing more than a soft vibration at first, but soon escalated to violent jerking, adding to the cacophony of the room by rattling against the wooden table. "What the fuck are you waiting for? Shoot it!" one officer commanded, using Alessandra as a human shield.

The other officer, much older than his partner, wiped the sweat from his brow, but kept his finger off the trigger. "Not yet. Let's just… see where this goes," he said shakily, a pathetic attempt to remain cool and confident in the face of the unknown.

On his command, they waited. Alessandra had nearly fainted from pain, her body weight being supported entirely by the younger officer. The quartz moved faster, hit the table harder, and glowed brighter, shaking the entire work until it just suddenly  _ stopped _ . No lights, no noise, no movement, nothing. 

"See? You just gotta remain ca-"  _ Shatter.  _ A booming sound, as if every glass bottle on Earth had been broken simultaneously, assaulted the room as the quartz seemed to self destruct. Crystalline shards shot out in every direction, mutilating both Alessandra and the older officer.

A larger piece punctured the officer's jugular, and all he could do was choke on his own blood for a few moments before falling to the floor, dead. Alessandra hadn't been hit anywhere lethal, but the entire front side of her body had been completely shredded. Tiny little shards blew into her eyes, scratching them up and drawing blood. She had no energy to scream or cry anymore.

Her fellow Children of Lemuria, however, had plenty. They broke out into a fit of hysterical howls, an unholy choir of fear. Not a single word was uttered, just unintelligible sobs. What had they just witnessed? What was the true story of this mysterious crystal they dedicated their lives to studying? Had everything they had ever known just been a lie?

"Everybody shut the  _ fuck _ up!" the surviving officer barked, pointing his gun at the crowd in the doorway. They instantly hushed, only emitting a few muffled sobs in between desperate gasps for air in an attempt to regulate breathing. "Let me think, just… let me fucking think, okay?!" He tossed Alessandra limp, but breathing, body to the crowd, letting them handle her now that she was no longer needed as a shield.

With a deep breath to calm himself, the officer opened the interface of his wristband communicator. He seemed to type away for a good fifteen minutes before lowering his arm and shooting a cold, threatening glare at the Children of Lemuria. "I need all of you to line up outside," he growled, pointing his gun into the crowd. "Do  _ not _ make me repeat my fucking self."

They did as they were told and, soon enough, four government vans arrived, along with one sleek black car. Alessandra was stuffed into the car along with her deck and a fresh Lemurian crystal, while everyone else was crammed into the vans. None of the vehicles went to the same place.

After several hours of driving, the black car arrived in São Paulo. Once a bustling party city, it became a base for most top secret military endeavors after it was bombed. The plan was to take Alessandra in for "questioning" but of course, no such thing could happen with such intense pain pushing her onto the edge of psychosis. She was brought to the best hospital in Brazil, the one saved for only the most important military personnel. They needed this woman alive, and they would go to any lengths to keep her that way.

Alessandra's recovery was not a speedy one. After nearly a week, she still couldn't do anything more than stare blankly at the ceiling. Whether it was emotional trauma or physical pain, nobody could determine, because she had become a hollow, expressionless shell of a person. Things were getting desperate, and time was running thin - they  _ had _ to get to the bottom of this before news spread to other countries.

Unfortunately, they couldn't be so lucky. But it wasn't a double agent that gave these secrets away, nor was it an enemy spy. It was nothing they could have predicted, nothing that could have had any possible scientific explanation. It challenged their very idea of reality, forcing the country's smartest men and women to reevaluate everything they ever thought they knew. It was quite simple, a mass phenomenon sweeping the world by storm, though nobody could even begin to rationalize it.

Immediately following that fateful night in April, The Fool had been erased from every tarot deck on the planet.


End file.
